
Mark Means Company, 1945 Annual Seed Catalog, Lewiston, Idaho 


HELPFUL HINTS ON GROWING VEGETABLES ~ 
SPRAY AND DUST FOR PESTS 
Insects and diseases may infest the vegetable 
garden but may never become a serious problem if 
one. watches for evidence of damage and takes 
prompt action. Sprays and dusts are available in 
convenient packages to combat every garden pest. 
When spraying cover all parts of the plant and both 
sides of the leaves. Do a thorough job promptly and 
avoid a serious infestation. 
Success in gardening starts by following certain 
rules. Whether these be noted from the pages of 
books or gathered from practical experiences makes 
little difference. The process is the same. Good seed, 
soil, water, fertilizer, and work makes for success. 
If we understand that almost every seed we SOW 
has stored within its shell the ability to sprout and 
grow into a useful plant we can easily think of the 
seeds as plant ready to set out which will make the 
picture of the finished garden clearer in our mind’s 
eye thus avoiding many of the early mistakes of 
planting. 
Seeds are started by sowing in the soil of the 
garden. There germination takes place readily when 
conditions required for growth are met. Fortu- 
nately good garden soil, well prepared meets these 
requirements: soil moisture, usually present after 
winter rains or supplied by irrigation; soil tempera- 
ture, heat from the sun and the main reason why 
certain tender seeds should be delayed in sowing 
(until the ground is warm), and air and moisture 
By thinking of the seeds as 
plants we will sow them far 
enough apart to reduce drastic 
thinning. We wouldn't set plants 
out very close because before 
long we would not have much 
of a garden, competition. be- 
tween the plants would reduce 
the flowers, fruits and shape of 
the individual plants to an un- 
desired minimum. In both vege- 
table and flower gardens we 
strive for perfection in either 
flowers, fruits or foliage—poor 
quality is seldom tolerated. 

On) 
Ragcarret _( urelae 
— Ss Coons — 
drainage supplied by the hard work of soil prepara- ‘a z 
tion which we have been recommending. As far as — 
fertilizer is concerned young seedlings don’t need 
extra feedings until they have used up the stored 
food of the cotyledons. It is better to delay feeding 
until growth is well started and then apply gradu- _ 
ally. This is in addition to the humus (manure, 
peat, compost, etc.) and phosphate and other fer- a 
tilizers put into the soil at the time of preparation. 
They are deeper down and can be reached by the 
plants as they grow. 
Actually every seed we sow will not germinate. 
Not from poor quality, but more often because 
other factors more difficult to control affect the 
seed. Among these are water, in excess, which may 
either wash the seeds out altogether or cover them 
more than they should be to sprout. (See planting 
chart.) Crows and rodents may eat some. Soil fungi 
and very wet soils before germination may cause 
many to rot. So we usually sow seeds thicker than 
needed and thin the rows later on to a spacing that 
allows the desired growth. 
The planting chart below contains suggestions 
to enable proper planning of the garden. However, 
most varieties used in the small home garden are 
best sown in smaller rows for which a packet each 
will usually suffice. Replanting to prolong the sea- 
son of short maturing crops is a splendid idea and 
makes maximum use of the prepared soil. 





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- 8 Cabboge 
